-------------------------------------- If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else. Character, not circumstances, makes the man. Booker T. Washington -------------------------------------- We know what we are, but know not what we may be. William Shakespeare -------------------------------------- There is a power that can raise you up even from the lowliest of places and guide you to the forefront of change if you truly want to create a better world. John Lewis -------------------------------------- Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that has. Margaret Mead -------------------------------------- I shall pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again. Stephen Grellet -------------------------------------- If you are not a better person tomorrow than you are today, what need have you for a tomorrow? Rebbe Nachman of Breslov ------------------------------------- Page | 1 The Miracle of Morning I thought I'd awaken to a world in mourning. Heavy clouds crowding, a society storming. But there's something different on this golden morning. Something magical in the sunlight, wide and warming. I see a dad with a stroller taking a jog. Across the street, a bright-eyed girl chases her dog. A grandma on a porch fingers her rosaries. She grins as her young neighbor brings her groceries. While we might feel small, separate, and all alone, Our people have never been more closely tethered. The question isn't if we will weather this unknown, But how we will weather this unknown together. So on this meaningful morn, we mourn and we mend. Like light, we can't be broken, even when we bend. As one, we will defeat both despair and disease. We stand with healthcare heroes and all employees; With families, libraries, schools, waiters, artists; Businesses, restaurants, and hospitals hit hardest. We ignite not in the light, but in lack thereof, For it is in loss that we truly learn to love. In this chaos, we will discover clarity. In suffering, we must find solidarity. For it's our grief that gives us our gratitude, Shows us how to find hope, if we ever lose it. So ensure that this ache wasn't endured in vain: Do not ignore the pain. Give it purpose. Use it. Read children's books, dance alone to DJ music. Know that this distance will make our hearts grow fonder. From a wave of woes our world will emerge stronger. We'll observe how the burdens braved by humankind Are also the moments that make us humans kind; Let every dawn find us courageous, brought closer; Heeding the light before the fight is over. When this ends, we'll smile sweetly, finally seeing In testing times, we became the best of beings. Amanda Gorman Page | 2 Across That Bridge You are a light. You are the light. Never let anyone—any person or any force—dampen, dim, or diminish your light. Study the path of others to make your way easier and more abundant. Lean toward the whispers of your own heart, discover the universal truth, and follow its dictates. Release the need to hate, to harbor division, and the enticement of revenge. Release all bitterness. Hold only love, only peace in your heart, knowing that the battle of good to overcome evil is already won. Choose confrontation wisely, but when it is your time don't be afraid to stand up, speak up, and speak out against injustice. And if you follow your truth down the road to peace and the affirmation of love, if you shine like a beacon for all to see, then the poetry of all the great dreamers and philosophers is yours to manifest in a nation, a world community, and a beloved community that is finally at peace with itself. John Lewis A Daily Meditation I need strength, humility, courage, patience. Strength to control my passions, humility to assess my own worth, courage to rise above defeats, patience to cleanse myself of imperfections. And wisdom: to learn and live by our sacred teachings. Let me not be discouraged by my failings. Let me take heart from all that is good and noble in my character. Keep me from falling victim to cynicism. Teach me sincerity and enthusiasm. Endow me with perception and courage, that I may serve others with compassion and love. Rabbi Robert I. Kahn Page | 3 THOUGHTS FOR OUR TIME Yom Kippur wasn’t supposed to be like this. Yes, we fast. Yes, we reflect. No, not as much as we probably should. No, we didn’t complete all of the teshuvah we had hoped. And yes, life goes on. Yet, here I am - Hineini. Here I am on a Yom Kippur afternoon that wasn’t supposed to be like this. Our world wasn’t supposed to be like this. Our way of dealing with societal and health plagues wasn’t supposed to be like this. Relationships with friends, family, co-workers have been stressed and strained to a breaking point…definitely not what was supposed to be. Here I am on a Yom Kippur afternoon reflecting, realizing that when I sat in the sanctuary with my community last year, I didn’t envision my life, my family, my friends, my God would be like this. I didn’t really consider deadly wildfires. I didn’t really consider that Black Lives Matter. I didn’t really consider acts of anti-Semitism. I didn’t really consider a world-wide health crisis. I didn’t really consider violence in my own city. I didn’t really consider poverty, starvation, cyber- bullying, political malfeasance, gender discrimination, global warming, economic disaster, and so many other worldwide tragedies because they were unimaginable last year. And I certainly didn’t think I could do anything about them. I mean…who am I? What I can I do for the suffering? What can I do for myself? Hineini - Here I am, calling out to You for change from the straits of my soul. The Psalmist writes of how You reply to Your people's meek requests with a Grand Expanse. But look...if I’m really honest with myself, I know the change has to come from me, from us. I just need to know that You’re there, that You can hear me. Can You, my God, hear me? Can you, my community, hear me? Can you, my family, hear me? Can I hear myself? Yom Kippur wasn’t supposed to be like this. But it is. Now is the time for change. Now is the time for teshuvah. Now is the time to create a new year the way it is supposed to be. Page | 4 Answer Me Music & Lyrics: David Yazbek Here I am; Here I am And the light is dying Where are you? Where are you? Will you answer me? All alone, In the quiet And my ears are thirsty For your voice; For your voice Can you answer me? If I try, maybe I can see your shadow In the sodium light that masquerades as moon If I try, I might take off like a sparrow And I’ll travel around the guiding breeze Very soon; Very soon That’s the sound of longing Are you there? Are you there? Will you answer me? . SEEKING PERSPECTIVE Again, God? It’s been a whole year since last yontif with You. It seems like yesterday, that year ago… I remember wanting to show both You and myself All the changes I’d make, All the fine things I’d do, As I sat here last yontif…as I sat here with You. Page | 5 Those beautiful prayers, how they inspired me – The idea that we could still grow…emotionally, spiritually, The thought that I alone could make a difference in the world – Such powerful words when I read them. How committed I felt when I said them. But I fear I have fallen short, God. I fear I am the same person now I was then – With the same limitations…the same struggles…the same inertia. Does this struggle not end? Do we forever have to be starting again? And again? And still again... Asking forgiveness, confessing to sin? Does this cycle have something to do With why I’m compelled to come back to You? To keep trying, right? We must keep trying. It is a process, right? Crossing those deserts within? A process. Not an end. AM I FAILING MYSELF? We live in a dynamic world. Everything changes. Winds change direction, sands shift. Rivers change course, mountains move. Glaciers melt. No one ever stays the same. Everyone changes. Page | 6 One cell becomes two; two become four. What we were and what we are Give way to what we will become. Children grow up. We grow old. And there is no choice, Except for what we choose to become. So the question is not will we change, But how will we change. I know today is a day for change. But change moves through me like an unsettling wind – Invisible, yet I know it is there. I feel its movement. At times the breeze is cold and makes me shudder. In my attempt to shield myself from the harshness of life, do I wrap myself with so many layers that I cut off my very breath? At other times, the breeze is friendly and awakens me to possibilities. But in my zeal to advance life’s potential, do I shed my layers in such impassioned response that I lose perspective? I am confused about this thing called change.